I'm an addict • Hacker News Board

Re: I'm an addict

#471

Post by upupandup » Thu, May 19, 2022, 4:56 PM UTC

TimTheTinker wrote: post #432

upupandup wrote: post #422

I'm curious to know whether OP has experienced full on addiction to substances, gambling or sex. Because what he's describing does not seem to be any of those things, more about complaints that Youtube's recommendation algorithm is causing him to stay on that platform for hours. I don't know what other "pleasures' he is alluding to but I could infer here and say OP is male and he is probably referring to internet por…

You're largely right, but I think you're underestimating the cognitive deficits that come with ADHD, particularly executive function. The key to breaking through mental barriers as an ADHD-sufferer is usually not more will-power or less laziness, though one must at least want to change. The key is externalization -- that is, building external cues, props, and guardrails into one's life to help one stay on task in the…

I didn't mean to take a swipe at ADHD but point out that dwelling on problems isn't going change things. I'm glad you laid out actually a really good solution.

Curious to know where you got this strategy from, think its a great!

Re: I'm an addict

#472

Post by birdyrooster » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:01 PM UTC

maerF0x0 wrote: post #469

alex_suzuki wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would strongly argue against having kids as a solution for any of life‘s problems. Kids are an incredibly demanding venture and can exacerbate existing problems. Speaking from experience here.

> for any of life‘s problems I understand it was hyperbole, but I would suggest one possible application of having and throwing everything you've got at raising children[1] to help with aimlessness/meaninglessness/purposelessness. Particularly when they're your own the common experience is your instinct/genome takes over and you'll find great imperative to do things you couldn't do for yourself. I learned about this…

I know enough shitty parents to say this does not have a high rate of success in changing people for the better, but I will leave it to Jordan Peterson, he seems like a real expert type.

Re: I'm an addict

#473

Post by Consultant32452 » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:06 PM UTC

v-erne wrote: post #399

Consultant32452 wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference between Harry Potter and most religious texts is that the religious texts are often the result of thousands of years of evolutionary processes which refine them, and the people who have followed them have survived/thrived. It doesn't matter if the Bible/Koran/whatever is a fact or not. Religious beliefs/texts are an extension of human evolution and should be seen that way. Questioning their wisdom in h…

>> often the result of thousands of years of evolutionary processes which refine them >> Religious beliefs/texts are an extension of human evolution and should be seen that way. If this is true, does it mean that churches all over the world did a big disservice to the holy books and stopped the evolution by creating institutions dedicated to preserve text of this books in unchanged form argumenting that those books l…

You might be aware of the fact that different factions/sects exist within the major religions, similar to how humans physically evolve separate traits. Some of those off-shoots will be more successful than others.

I'm sure you have some great ideas about living. Let's check the reproductive rate of the people who follow your ideas in a thousand years.

Re: I'm an addict

#474

Post by ryandrake » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:07 PM UTC

AussieWog93 wrote: post #98

kanonieer wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists Any sources that will back this claim? Oh wait, you don't need facts. Do you give this sort of unsolicited religious advice to everyone or do you specifically choose people who are troubled?

>Any sources that will back this claim? Oh wait, you don't need facts. Do you give this sort of unsolicited religious advice to everyone or do you specifically choose people who are troubled? I mean, there's a fairly strong Darwinistic argument for the validity of certain religions. Very few belief systems have survived a hostile environment for anywhere near as long as the big religions. If religious belief systems…

> If religious belief systems are "wrong" (in the sense of being useful for navigating the world, not in the sense of satisfying certain conditions of symbolic logic and reasoning), then why have these religions triumphed over secularism time and time again?

To be fair, a lot of them spread by the sword. Convert or we kill your tribe. Some of them explicitly call out in their texts that it's OK to forcibly convert or murder non-believers, an attribute which is, I'm sure, a helpful "evolutionary gene" for the religion's spread. There are also religions with non-violent, but still coercive conversion, where there are non-death-related social consequences for nonbelievers.

Re: I'm an addict

#475

Post by hn_version_0023 » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

thomastjeffery wrote: post #470

hn_version_0023 wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My biggest criticism of religion is the very boundary drawn between fiction and scripture: that adherents to a religion must treat fiction as if it is reality. Agreed. This is the part that really gets under my skin… its been my understanding for most of my life that the bible specifically is full of allegory , not history . Yet, so many many of the “believers” I encounter don’t know what “allegory” means. The bibl…

Often it's because while they may "know they're full of shit", they won't admit it to themselves. Being able to think critically of religion means being agnostic or atheist. My assertion is that it's not you who is paralyzed, but anyone who cannot criticize their own position.

This is a good take, thanks! It feels like their paralysis is contagious, which is endlessly frustrating.

Re: I'm an addict

#476

Post by misiti3780 » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:11 PM UTC

tonyarkles wrote: post #300

misiti3780 wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have many family and friends that are christians, and was raised christian. It's a full fledged government-subsidized cult, maybe a benign cult, but a cult nonetheless.

I think you'll find that that varies dramatically from denomination to denomination. When I was a kid, my grandparents and parents took us to a Southern Baptist church. I agree, 100%, and I'm not even sure that I'd qualify that with the word "benign" :) In university, I dated a Lutheran (in Canada, there's two "sub-Lutheran" organizations, she was a part of the "more welcoming one") and it was a night and day differe…

my experience is with Catholicism. you dont have to do too much research to see where that went wrong.

Re: I'm an addict

#477

Post by thingification » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:12 PM UTC

> Getting over it: Besides blanket ban on all things video and social media, I don't think I have a better solution.

beeminder.com

Re: I'm an addict

#478

Post by fipar » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:14 PM UTC

seti0Cha wrote: post #351

fipar wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We agree on the meaning then! :) This reminded me of the intro to “A universe from nothing”, where the author says (paraphrasing) “why is there life is the wrong question, but we can try to answer how is there life?”

Can you elaborate on what is meant by "the wrong question"?

I agree with this answer: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31436469

I also wanted to add that it's not that I think it is wrong to ask such questions, only that I think they're wrong when considered from within our system of knowledge, so I find them unanswerable.

Kind of how like "what kind of food does that digital computer like?" is a wrong question.

Re: I'm an addict

#479

Post by overgard » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:15 PM UTC

I know these compulsive behaviors arent good but these are first world problems compared to like a substance addiction where stopping without help could kill you and getting hekp could bankrupt you. We need a different word for this than addiction because it really diminishes it.

Re: I'm an addict

#480

Post by Melting_Harps » Thu, May 19, 2022, 5:17 PM UTC

fsociety wrote: post #443

Melting_Harps wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Medication came with unacceptable side-effects for me. Real bummer. I was tested at very young age, as most millennials were in the US, and was told I did not have it, luckily; but looking back on the people who were raised in that era and how they handed out SSRIs like candy I'm glad I dodged that bullet because the adverse affects of those drugs sound way worse than coping with ADHD--but it also explains why ment…

The stigma of medications is more harmful in my mind, I feel this deeply when I read your experience of life. The first time I took my meds, my mind was blown. It was the first time in my long life I experienced peace and quiet. Now I am able to track my work, break large tasks into smaller ones, and quiet my brain. I’m on a dose + brand name with no side-effects etc. The issue, and this isn’t true for everyone but I…

> The stigma of medications is more harmful in my mind, I feel this deeply when I read your experience of life.

Mine was a life of extremes, put simply I stopped caring about myself during that time and I poured myself into my work as I wanted to have something to show for what I felt was more than likely going to be a short Life.

I didn't think I was going to get rich doing any of that, in fact I lost money for most of it's existence and I never paid myself in order to pay everyone else and keep the lights on until we accomplished our mission statement, the only thing that saved me in the end was the skill set I developed made me marketable in fintech and I got head hunted to go work for a Megaorp.

I spent my Life doing what I wanted and lived a perilous and risky life and got addicted to the adrenaline rush and still deal with bad PTSD to this day. I take your words to heart, and I'm glad it worked, but sadly a family member who had a schizophrenic break down really early in life (teens) just passed from a heart attack this week; her health really went down hill after having been put on SSRI meds after that. But she also had substance abuse problems with alcohol, that run on both sides of her family, that exacerbated an already bad situation.

I'm devastated, I'm glad it worked for you, but honestly... I'm not sure it's as cut and dry as you make it out to be.

Back then I was trying to cope with my situation as best as I could, without medical insurance for most of that time, but I'm also the kind of person that goes to Ukraine during this situation and goes to help feed and process Ukrainians/Russians/Belarusians at the Mexican border in order to feel anything other than pain and sorrow if I have access to resources to do so. I'm not exactly seeking a medical escape to what I deal with, so much as trying to play a part in trying to accelerate the progress of the Human Condition in it's current form as I fear extinction is a real possibility.

In short, I was trying to fix my Weltschmerz with seemingly noble but self-destructive behaviours because I didn't want to give in to the often depressing and bleak realities of the World. I didn't, nor do I now, want to feel any number than I already was back then. Given your handle, I imagine you understand what that show was trying to communicate the most was about addressing mental health issues more than it was an edgy hacker show with cool realistic cut scenes.

I've since worked on it after the aforementioned situations and a friend's abrupt suicide last year: it forced me to re-evaluate my value system, and gain some perspective on my limitations.